Industry given go ahead to develop nuclear powered JIMO probe

Contractors have been given the go ahead to develop the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter: www.space.com...

This probe will be powered by a nuclear-electric engine and be capable of orbiting Jupiter's major moons, individually. Such long-term, close range
observation *may* be able to determine if Jupiter's moon Europa has the capacity to harbor life in the ocean that rests beneath its icy surface.

The project will also involve the Department of Energy and the US Navy centers that develop naval reactors.

Personally, I think this project is cool because, if you look at it closely, you can imagine a scaled-up version being used to carry humans on
interplanetary flights. www.jpl.nasa.gov...

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.